Minnesota grantmaking expected to slip

February 3, 2010

While grantmakers in Minnesota estimate their giving will be off by about one percent this year, they appear to be a bit more optimistic than they were this time last year, a new survey says.

A quarter of grantmakers anticipate increasing their giving this year, while about 30 percent expect to give less, says a survey conducted in November of last year by the Minnesota Council on Foundations.

That's a better outlook than last year, when 40 percent of funders expected giving to drop and only 15 percent were anticipating increases.

Some of that optimism may be due to the outlook for foundation assets, with almost six in 10 foundation expecting increases and fewer than one in 10 anticipating drops.

About two in 10 funders plan to make more grants this year, while about one in 10 say they will shrink the sizes of their grants.

"The considerable and rapid decline in the assets of many grantmakers during the recession will affect their giving for years to come," Bill King, president of the council, says in a statement. "But, if grantmakers' assets begin to come back, this may lead to a more stable philanthropic environment for Minnesota nonprofits."

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